KUALA LUMPUR: Members of the public who receive e-mails instructing them to click a link to get their overdue tax refund should be wary as there is a syndicate prowling for victims with this tactic.
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) in a statement said it had detected the syndicate scamming victims by sending e-mails to unsuspecting people, using the board’s Chief Executive Officer and board directors’ names.
The e-mail, which uses IRB’s official logo and banking institutions’ logos, convinced members of the public that they could claim the overdue tax refunds.
The e-mail read: “Our records show that you have an overdue tax refund. Kindly click on the link below and follow the instructions to receive your refund.”
The link in the e-mail would then direct the recipients to another page, where the potential victims have to fill up their banking details to allow the supposed tax refunds to be banked in by IRB.
“It should be noted that IRB has not sent any e-mails asking for taxpayers to disclose their banking details. This is because the (taxpayers’) banking details would be obtained through a declaration by the taxpayer when they complete the Income Tax Return Form yearly.
“Also, successfully processed overdue tax refunds would be credited by IRB to the taxpayers’ bank accounts using Electronic Fund Transfer, overdue tax voucher, cheque or telegraphic transfer (for those who are overseas),” the statement read.
An IRB spokesman when contacted said as of 5pm today, a total of 65 reports were lodged with the board by people who had received the e-mail.
“However they were not duped into the scam as they had verified with IRB before proceeding,” he said.
IRB believed there are more people who have been receiving the e-mail but have yet to verify with the board.
The public are advised to verify the content of the e-mail before following the instructions. The easiest way to verify is to check the e-mail’s domain. Every official e-mail from IRB would use the domain @hasil.gov.my.
Among the domain detected includes @vanderbit.edu and @vumc.org.
Public could also call the IRB’s careline at 1-800-88-5436 to verify.
Those who have fallen victims should lodge a police report.